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Despite enduring a frustrating night in Marseille, Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo still ended up celebrating – after his Portugal side advanced past Poland and into the semi-finals of Euro 2016.

Robert Lewandowski scored his first goal of the tournament to put Poland ahead within the first two minutes of Thursday night’s quarter-final, but Ronaldo’s side were back on level terms before the break thanks to a wonderful strike from emerging talent Renato Sanches.

With no further goals in the tie, both teams faced the dreaded penalty shootout. Ronaldo uncharacteristically stepped up first to fire Portugal ahead and the confidence he showed in doing so spread throughout his countrymen – as Jakub Blaszczykowski was the only player to miss from the spot, allowing Portugal to claim a 5-3 win in the shootout.

Ronaldo became the first player to score in four different European Championships with the first of his brace against Hungary in their 3-3 Group F draw. However, that is the only game the talismanic forward has been able to find the net in this summer.

His frustrations continued against Poland in the Stade Velodrome, but it wasn’t for the lack of trying.

He could have been awarded a penalty after he was bundled over in the box by Michal Pazdan in the first half, before he wasted a fantastic chance from Joao Moutinho’s lofted ball after the break and then summed up his night by failing to connect with Sanches’ cross in the box in extra-time.

None of that seemed to get to the 31-year-old Madrid star though – as he insisted to reporters after the game that Portugal’s results are more important than his own personal display.

As translated by ESPN, Ronaldo said: “My own performance is not important. What counts is the team, and we did a fantastic job.

“I worked hard for the team, although I did not manage to score.

Today it was Renato (Sanches). I am delighted for him, he is doing well and now has his first goal at the Euros.

“The objective was to go through. We are in the semis and go on from here.”

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Real Madrid have opened talks with Welsh Euro 2016 star Gareth Bale’s advisers and are hopeful of agreeing a new deal within the next month.

Bale – who has helped inspire Wales to their first quarter-final in a major International tournament in 58 years – is likely to be rewarded for his fine form for both club and country with a lucrative new deal and talks are already underway.

Madrid are keen to conclude all negotiations within the next three weeks, to ensure that the 26-year-old remains at the Santiago Bernabéu.

Having joined the club in 2013 from English club Tottenham Hotspur for a record-breaking fee of €100.8 million, Bale has just over three years remaining on his current contract.

However, Madrid are aiming to tie the two-time Champions League winner down for a longer period, in an attempt to finally extinguish any interest from Premier League clubs looking to take him back to England.

Former Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal had reportedly looked in to a deal to sign Bale – who will make his 60th International appearance when Wales take on Belgium in their Euro 2016 quarter-final on Friday night – last summer, but the Welshman is settled in Spain and a move never came into fruition.

With talks of a new deal, Madrid could kill off any lingering thoughts of Bale returning to the Premier League and their would be the very real possibility that Bale could finish his playing career with the Champions League holders and further increase his claim of being the highest scoring British footballer to play in La Liga.

A new contract would cap a wonderful few months for Bale, who has added to Madrid’s European glory by shining for Wales in Euro 2016 – their first appearance in an International tournament since a quarter-final showing back in 1958.

The current generation of Wales stars could surpass that legendary squad were they to beat Belgium and advance to the last-four.

And Bale – who scored in a 1-0 win over Belgium in qualifying for the tournament – has labelled the game one of the biggest football matches in Welsh history.

Bale told the BBC: “This is our time to shine. We’re the only home nation left in the competition, which is an amazing achievement in itself.

“We know about the quarter-final in 1958 but, since then, it’s definitely the biggest game in Welsh football. We’re very happy, very proud and we’ll be flying the flag for Wales.”

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German midfielder Toni Kroos has dismissed rumours that he is to leave Real Madrid and join English Premier League side Manchester City.

The 26-year-old – who is currently representing his country in Euro 2016 – played under new Man City boss Pep Guardiola at Bayern Munich and it has been suggested that the Spaniard is keen on a big-money move for Kroos, who has represented his country 69 times and scored 11 goals since making his debut in a friendly against Argentina back in January 2010.

The pair only spent one season together at the Allianz Arena in 2013/14, but it resulted in Bayern Munich winning a Bundesliga and DFB Pokal double. A World Cup-winning campaign with Germany in Brazil then peaked Madrid’s interest in Kroos, who arrived at the Santiago Bernabéu in the summer of 2014.

Munich have also been linked with an interest in taking him back to Germany, but Kroos insisted that he is not planning on leaving the Spanish capital.

Kroos – who rose up through the ranks at Bayern between 2006 and 2014 – told German newspaper Kicker: “I always think about my future. That’s part of my job.

“But if I were to comment (on) every single rumour published on me in the last couple of months, I would never get out of it.

“Only last week, I read that I re-signed at Bayern. I am a Real Madrid player with four years left on my deal.

“That should be enough to silence those rumours.”

Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane has hinted that he could sign fellow Frenchman Paul Pogba after Euro 2016, so could be forced to sell before bringing signing the Juventus midfielder for the Champions League holders.

However, it’s expected that Columbian forward James Rodriguez would be more likely to leave the club before Kroos, having fallen down the pecking order in the Real Madrid squad.

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After helping Colombia to a third-placed finish at the Copa America, Real Madrid outcast James Rodriguez has put his woes behind him with a trip to Miami with his family.

The 24-year-old – who joined Madrid from AS Monaco for £63m in 2014 following a fantastic showing at the World Cup – and his fellow countrymen saw off hosts United States in the third-place playoff, but Rodriguez has opted to stay in the country for a holiday with wife Daniela Ospina and seemed in high spirits as the pair messed about on the beach.

The pair even indulged in some volleyball – a sport that Ospina has represented Real Madrid in back in Spain – as Rodriguez appeared to be making the most of his US trip, before returning to Madrid for pre-season.

Despite starring for his country, Rodriguez is yet to establish himself in Madrid and there are rumours that he faces an unsettled future in the Spanish capital when he returns to the Santiago Bernabéu.

Former Premier League winners Chelsea and Manchester City are thought to be interested in the former Porto and Monaco ace, but both will face competition from French champions Paris Saint-Germain for his signature.

With El Confidencial also reporting that Madrid are prepared to accept a loss on Rodriguez as long as their valuation of £53m is met, it looks likely that the forward could be on the move this summer.

They also reveal that the Colombian might favour a move to PSG, who have appointed Unai Emery as their new manager following Laurent Blanc’s resignation.

Emery brought out the best in Ever Banega during his time as Sevilla boss, so Rodriguez would hope that he could follow in the same path – after struggling to hold down a regular starting place for Zinedine Zidane, as well as also falling out of favour with the French World Cup winner’s predecessor Rafa Benitez.

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Bayern Munchen will be one of the best teams in Europe again next year. Pep Guardiola left Munchen for Manchester and Carlo Ancelotti arrived. Both play offensive football but the style will be completely different in the Bavarian team. Apart from the good footballers they already had, the Italian coach wants to complete the squad with some of the best players in Europe.

Matt Hummels (Borussia Dortmund) and Renato Sanches (Benfica) already signed for Bayern Munchen before the Euro. However, the Bavarian club doesn’t stop there and wants more good players.

One of this targeted players is Raphael Varane, according to the French newspaper Le Parisien. The press says that Carlo Ancelotti personally asked for the Real Madrid defender and the German team is going to ask about him to Real Madrid. The transfer fee would be around 40 M€.

Bayern Munchen have had several problems in the defence line in Guardiola’s years. Dante, Boateng or Benatia weren’t the best players for this role and now the club wants to sign the most suitable footballers for this position. Hummels is already in the squad but another good defender would be welcome.

Varane has a tough situation at Real Madrid. He’s still very young and both the coach and the club tell him that he is a key player for Los Blancos, especially in the future. However, this season Varane ended up on the bench, with Sergio Ramos and Pepe playing the most important games. Varane has had several injuries in the last months that avoid him to stay always in the starting line up.

Real Madrid is not willing to sell one of the best footballers they have in the squad. Especially, if you think that Pepe’s last year as a top player could be the next one and the club has the replacement in house with Varane. But if the player decides to leave, it will be very difficult to convince him to do the opposite thing.

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N'Golo Kante
N'Golo Kante during a Premier League match - Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images

Zinedine Zidane wants another defensive midfielder in the squad apart from Casemiro. The chosen one is N’Golo Kanté and Real Madrid could execute the release clause: 25M€.

Leicester’s great victory in the Premier League couldn’t be explained without Vardy or Mahrez. Those two players had a key role in the offensive line for The Foxes but the defensive part started with N’Golo Kanté. He was everywhere in the pitch and his physical capacities surprised all the rivals.

Now, Kanté is focused with his national team, France, in the Euro. Didier Deschamps has a lot of confidence on him and Kanté is a fixed member in the starting line up. In only a couple of years Kanté has changed a small team in France to win the Premier League and play the Euro as a host.

Zidane wants another player to compete for Casemiro’s place. The French coach knows that, if Real Madrid wants to play with an offensive team, including Bale, Cristiano Ronaldo and Benzema, they need at least one defensive midfielder. Long time ago it was Makélélé role and now it’s Casemiro’s.

But the season is very long and the team needs another player for this position. According to Marca, Real Madrid could pay the release clause, 25M€. It’s an affordable price for Real Madrid.

Kanté is only 25 years old and he has improved a lot in these two years. However, Real Madrid need to be quick because they have several competitors to hire the French player. For example, PSG, Manchester United or Manchester City have shown also interest in Kanté.

Kanté played in Bolougne and Caen before arriving to Leicester. There, with Ranieri on the bench, The Foxes made history winning the Premier League trophy. Now, most of the players could get good deals with the best teams in Europe and this is including Kanté and Real Madrid.

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In the last years, Real Madrid preseason was very contested by managers and players. The squad had to travel all around the world to meet the sponsors needs and cash some money for the club. Australia, China, Thailand or other countries in Asia were the destinies of an exhausting pre-season training sessions.

This year, with Zinedine Zidane commanding, it will be different. The 15th of July the players who didn’t participate in the Copa America or Euro will finish their holidays and meet in Valdebebas, Real Madrid training ground in Spain. The day after, the squad will travel to Montreal.

In the Canadian city, Real Madrid will have their headquarters from the 17th to the 26th of July. There, they will train in the sports ground of La Caserne Letourneux, whose owners are Montreal Impact, the football team in Montreal. Last season, Chelsea prepared there their season and also Olympique Lyonnaise trained before the French Supercup. It has four football pitches, two with natural grass and two others with artificial grass.

The temperature for training in Canada is perfect. It would be around 24ºC with some showers. Zidane wants to train secretly, so it’s unlikely that we could see some of the training session.

Real Madrid will rest in the Ritz Carlton Hotel of Montreal. The hotel has a cost of 500€ per night. Last year, the squad stayed in a similar hotel in China during the pre-season stage.

The 27th of July, Real Madrid will play the International Champions Club against PSG in Ohio and, afterwards, they’ll make a small tour around the United States.

The club needs to organized very well the stage because it will be a really exhausting season for Real Madrid. Before the League starts, Los Blancos have to face Sevilla in the European Supercup, the first title in the season. Besides, in December they’ll have to travel to Japan to play the FIFA World Cup Clubs.

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Jesé is in the market and many teams are moving around to see if they can get the Canterano player for next season. Especially, some of the most important teams of La Liga know his value and are already showing interest in Jesé.

Some days ago, Espanyol said openly that they wanted to sign Jesé for the next season. Quique Sánchez Flores, Espanyol new coach, is a fan of Jesé’s work and the Barcelona team has a really good relationship with Real Madrid after Casilla, Lucas Vázquez, Asensio or Burgui deals.

But Espanyol have big competitors. According to Superdeporte, Valencia are also interested on signing Jesé. Pako Ayestarán, Valencia’s manager, has told the board that Jesé would be perfect for the team. The coach arrived at the end of last season and he’s trying to build a good squad with a low budget and the problem of not playing in Europe next season.

That’s the reason for some of the most important players to leave the club. Feghouli, Piatti or Negredo are expected to leave the club and Valencia need some reinforcement in the attack line. Nani and Jesé are the favourites ones for the manager.

Ayestarán wants quick attackers with pace and really strong, so Jesé fits perfect in this profile. Last winter transfer window, Valencia and Real Madrid agreed an on loan deal for Denis Cheryshev but the relationship between these two clubs is not the best.

Real Madrid might want to look for another club that is playing European competitions next year. Jesé needs a good club to make a step forward in his career. Is Valencia the correct team for him?

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Paul Pogba is the main character this summer. He’s been in the centre of all the gossips during the Euro due to the interest of Real Madrid and some other clubs in signing him. Juventus said loud and clear that they won’t sell the French footballer but some European clubs prefer not to listen the Italian team.

According to As, Mino Raiola, Pogba’s agent, is already in talks with Manchester United. José Mourinho wants a big squad for his first year as a ‘Red Devil’ and the board is willing to give the coach everything he wants. And Pogba is one of his target.

Real Madrid have frozen the talks with Juventus after knowing that Pogba’s transfer fee would be around 120M€ and the player wanted 15M€ per year. Real Madrid wouldn’t like to spend that amount of money but Manchester United could make the effort.

Raiola is talking these weeks a lot with the ‘Red Devils’ because he’s also Ibrahimovic’s agent, who is expected to arrive to Old Trafford very soon. Furthermore, Raiola also work with the Armenian player Mkhitaryan, who could sign for Manchester United. Therefore, in Raiola’s talks with Manchester United could be some space for Paul Pogba.

The French player is not brighting in this Euro. His performance is been very poor and in the last few days it looks like Real Madrid is dismissing the signing. With Casemiro, Kroos and Modric the midfield position could be covered and there is no need to spend 160M€ in just one player.

However, both Manchester United or Real Madrid will have difficulties to sign Pogba. The French player is happy in Torino and Juventus is about to offer a new contract to the player. According to Tuttosport, the salary will be raised from 4.0M€ to 4.5M€ and another 1.5M€ in goals. His current deal ends in 2019 and Juventus is offering a new deal ending in 2022.

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The last 16 round of the Euro hasn’t been great for some Real Madrid players who can now enjoy their holidays. After an exhausting season, Sergio Ramos or Luca Modric have now time to enjoy their holidays with their families as they’ve been from the Euro.

However, there are still some Real Madrid players that are alive in the competition and playing a key role in their teams. They could end up the season winning the Champions League and the Euro, the two most important European trophies.

Gareth Bale is still making history with Wales. The British team knocked Northern Ireland in another serious game who introduce the Welsh team to the quarter finals of the tournament. Bale couldn’t score this team but played a good game. Now they face Portugal.

Bale will see Cristiano Ronaldo and Pepe again. Without doing a great tournament, Portugal is already in the quarter finals after beating Croatia in the extra time. The two Real Madrid players are always in the line up and Cristiano assisted Nani in Portugal’s goal.

They knocked out Modric in the Last 16. Croatia did a great job in the group stage and could beat Portugal but a counter attack in the last minute finished with the Balcanic team. Modric was in tears as he was one of the best players in this Euro.

Same luck for the Spanish national team. Sergio Ramos, Álvaro Morata and Lucas Vázquez go know back to Spain after their defeat against Italy. Ramos didn’t play well in all the competition and Morata was one of the best players in the last 16 game. Now he ends up the competition with 3 goals. Lucas Vázquez finally could make his debut in the second half with a good performance.

Finally, we have to highlight Toni Kroos’ performance. Germany thrashed Slovakia with another perfect game for the Real Madrid player. Perhaps Kroos is been the best midfielder in this Euro and his pass accuracy is perfect.

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